Vehicle-mountable guideline painting apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

A vehicle-mountable guideline painting apparatus and method. The apparatus has an arm with a first end mountable to a vehicle. A holder is operably supported at a second end of the arm at a desired elevation above a roadway. The holder is configured to receive an aerosol paint canister in a position with its nozzle oriented in a direction to spray paint onto the roadway. An actuator is disposed to actuate the nozzle upon receiving an electrical signal from a power source causing paint to be sprayed onto the roadway.

BACKGROUND

During road construction, it is often necessary or desirable to paintguidelines on the roadway surface for purposes of diverting anddirecting traffic, to make a guideline to be followed by roadconstruction equipment or for other purposes. One method of paintingguidelines on roadway surfaces typically employed by road constructioncrews is to have two crewmembers hold a stringline while a thirdcrewmember sprays the guideline along the stringline using aerosolpaint. Such a process is not cost effective because it is performed onfoot and therefore it is not only slow but it requires multiplecrewmembers resulting in excessive manhours to perform. It also exposesmultiple crew members to traffic thereby increasing the risk of personalinjury.

Accordingly, there is a need for a simple, effective and inexpensive wayto paint guidelines on a roadway which can be performed by a singleworker, which can be performed using a vehicle so it is faster and saferbecause the worker is not on foot and is not exposed to traffic, andwhich does not require the investment in specialized roadway stripers orother specialized equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a vehicle-mountableguideline painting apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the vehicle-mountable guideline paintingapparatus of FIG. 1 shown mounted to a trailer hitch receiver of avehicle.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing an embodiment in which the actuator ismounted to the top of the post of the guideline painting apparatus ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is side elevation view the guideline painting apparatus of FIG.1.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are partial bottom plan views of different embodimentsof the paint can holder for the guideline painting apparatus of FIG. 1showing different nozzle trigger configurations.

FIG. 8 is another embodiment of a vehicle-mountable guideline paintingapparatus.

DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designateidentical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1illustrates one embodiment of a vehicle-mountable guideline paintingapparatus 10. The apparatus 10 is mountable to a vehicle 12 (FIG. 2)such as a pickup truck or any other suitable vehicle, preferablyutilizing the vehicle's trailer hitch receiver 14 (FIG. 2) or othersuitable mounting point. The apparatus 10 includes an arm 20 thatpreferably supports a vertically adjustable post 30 having a holder 40disposed thereon for receiving an inverted aerosol paint canister 50preferably of the type that is specially adapted for painting marks on aroadway 16. As used herein, the term “roadway” should be understood tomean any surface on which a vehicle may be driven where it may bedesirable to paint guidelines for any purpose.

The arm 20 is preferably L-shaped with a first leg 22 received into thetrailer hitch receiver 14 while the second leg 24 preferably extendslaterally to position the post 30 and holder 40 to the side of thevehicle 12 so that it can be viewed by the driver of the vehicle 12through a side mirror (not shown). It should also be appreciated, thatthe arm 20 could be straight or could include a pivot pin or hinge (notshown) so that the second leg 24 is pivotable with respect to the firstleg 22.

The second leg 24 of the arm 20 is preferably telescoping to provide forlateral positioning of the post 30 and holder 40 with respect to thevehicle 12. The second leg 24 preferably includes a slide arm 26 that isreceived within a fixed arm 28. An adjustment bolt 29 is preferablyprovided on the fixed arm 28 which can be rotated for engaging the slidearm 26 to frictionally hold it in position relative to the fixed arm 28once the desired lateral position of the slide arm 26 is achieved.Alternatively, a pin (not shown) may be provided that is receivablewithin predefined spaced holes in the slide arm 26 for adjustablypinning the slide arm 26 in the desired position with respect to thefixed arm 28. Any other suitable means of positioning the slide arm 26relative to the fixed arm 28 may also be used. Also as shown in FIG. 2,a spring or other resilient member 32 is preferably disposed between thepost 30 at the end of the second leg 24 so as to allow the post 30 todeflect if the post 30 or holder 40 encounters an obstruction such asuneven terrain, thereby minimizing damage that may occur if the post orholder was rigidly connected to the arm.

In a preferred embodiment, the post 30 and holder 40 assembly arepreferably adapted from a commercially available hand held marking wand,such as a Krylon® “Hand Held Wheeler Marking Wand” (UPC 7-24504-07096-2)incorporated herein by reference, which is available from variousretailers and on-line outlets. It should be appreciated, however, thatrather than modifying a commercially available marking wand, the postand holder may be fabricated from or comprise any suitable components ormaterials as recognized by those of skill in the art. The post 30 ispreferably vertically adjustable with respect to the arm 20 forpositioning the paint canister 50 received within the holder 40 at thedesired elevation from the roadway or ground surface to be marked. Abracket 34 is preferably mounted to the spring or resilient member 32 orto the end of the second leg 24 of the arm 20. The bracket 34 preferablyslidably receives the post 30. An adjustment bolt 36 is preferablyprovided on the bracket 34 which can be rotated for engaging theslidable post 30 to frictionally hold it in position relative to thebracket 34 once a desired position of the post 30 is achieved.Alternatively, a pin may be provided that is receivable withinpredefined spaced holes in the post 30 for pinning the post 30 in thedesired position relative to the bracket 34. Any other suitable means ofpositioning the post 30 relative to the bracket 34 may also be used.

The holder 40 is configured to receive the inverted aerosol paintcanister 50 such that the nozzle 52 (FIG. 4) of the canister 50 isoriented toward the roadway to be marked. Positioned at the bottom ofthe holder 40 is a nozzle trigger 42 which is configured to actuate thecanister nozzle 52 to cause paint to spray from the nozzle 52. As shownin FIGS. 5-7, the nozzle trigger 42 may be configured to push on thenozzle 52 (FIG. 5) or hooked to pull on the nozzle 52 (FIG. 6) or, asshown in FIG. 7, the trigger 42 may include a circular opening throughwhich the nozzle 52 is inserted, such that the trigger 42 may be pushedor pulled to actuate the nozzle 52. The holder 40 also preferablyincludes a foot 44 or other protective component, such as a wheel, toprotect the canister nozzle 52 from damage.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, an actuator 60, such as a solenoid, issecured to a bracket 62 at the top of the post 30. A turnbuckle 64couples the solenoid stem 63 to a vertical rod 66 that extends throughthe post 30. A horizontal rod 68 is connected to the bottom of thevertical rod 66 by a pivotable L-shaped rocker 67. It should beappreciated that the vertical displacement of the solenoid stem 63 uponactuation of the solenoid actuator 60 will result in a correspondingvertical displacement of the vertical rod 66 coupled thereto. Thisvertical displacement of the vertical rod 66 is converted to ahorizontal displacement of the trigger 42 via the pivoting L-shapedrocker 67 that links the vertical rod 66 and the horizontal rod 68 ofthe trigger 42. The turnbuckle 64 permits any necessary adjustment ofthe linkage between the solenoid 60 and trigger 42 so that the verticaldisplacement of the solenoid stem 63 effects the desired actuation ofthe nozzle 52. It should be appreciated that the foregoing descriptionis but one of many configurations that may be used to convert thevertical movement to a horizontal movement for actuation of the nozzle52, including for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,485,206 and3,796,353 and in Publication No. U.S. 2006/0185179 each of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

In a preferred embodiment, the actuator 60 is electrically coupled tothe vehicle's electric system using a wiring harness 70 having aconnector 72 that is received within trailer light plug 74 adjacent tothe trailer hitch receiver 14. Thus it should be appreciated that if theactuator 60 is electrically coupled to the left or right vehicle turnsignal through the trailer light plug, the solenoid 60 will be actuatedby turning on the vehicle's turn signal causing paint to be sprayedintermittently in sequence with the blinking or flashing of thevehicle's turn signal. Alternatively, or in addition, if the actuator 60is electrically coupled to the vehicle's lights through the trailerlight plug, the solenoid can be activated and de-activated, by turningthe vehicle lights on and off. It should also be appreciated that ratherthan utilizing the vehicle's electrical system, a separate battery orother electric power source may be provided along with a switch foractivating or deactivating the actuator 60.

FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which the solenoid 60 ismounted such that the linear displacement of the actuator is in thehorizontal direction thereby eliminating the need for the vertical rod62 and the rocker 67. In this embodiment the solenoid stem 63 actsdirectly on the horizontal trigger rod 68.

Based on the foregoing it should be appreciated that in a preferredembodiment, a single operator may quickly mount the guideline paintingapparatus 10 to a trailer hitch receiver 52 of a vehicle 50, plug thewiring harness 54 to the vehicle's trailer light plug, insert the paintcanister into the holder 40, and then adjust the position of thecanister holder 130 to the desired elevation. The operator can thenposition the vehicle on the roadway and simply actuate the system tobegin the guideline spraying process by turning on the vehicle's left orright turn signal to produce intermittent guidelines as the operatordrives forwardly, or a continuous guideline by turning on the vehicle'slights. When the guideline is complete, the marking system is turned offor deactivated by turning off the vehicle's turn signal or lights. Whenthe paint canister is empty or a different color or type of markingpaint is desired, the operator can stop and replace the canister withanother one, then continue with the guideline marking process as justdescribed.

Accordingly, the vehicle-mountable guideline painting apparatus 10provides a simple and effective way for a single worker to paintguidelines on a roadway or other surface quickly and from within thesafety of a vehicle thereby minimizing exposure of the worker to vehicletraffic on the roadway. The vehicle-mountable guideline paintingapparatus 10, and which does not require the investment in specializedroadway stripers or other specialized equipment.

The foregoing description is presented to enable one of ordinary skillin the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the contextof a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications tothe preferred embodiment of the apparatus, and the general principlesand features of the system and methods described herein will be readilyapparent to those of skill in the art. Thus, the present invention isnot to be limited to the embodiments of the apparatus, system andmethods described above and illustrated in the drawing figures, but isto be accorded the widest scope consistent with the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

1. A vehicle-mountable guideline painting apparatus, comprising; an armhaving a first end mounted to a vehicle; a holder operably supported ata second end of said arm at a desired elevation above a roadway, saidholder configured to receive an aerosol paint canister and to supportsaid canister in a position with its nozzle oriented in a direction tospray paint onto said roadway; an actuator electrically connected to apower source, said actuator disposed to actuate said nozzle uponreceiving an electrical signal from said power source causing paint tobe sprayed onto said roadway.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein saidfirst end of said arm is received within a trailer hitch receivermounted to said vehicle.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said powersource is the vehicle's electrical power source.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 3 further including a wiring harness electrically coupled to saidactuator at one end and having a connector adapted to be received by atrailer light plug on said vehicle.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 whereinsaid actuator is actuated by turning on one of said vehicle's turnsignals, whereby intermittent guidelines are painted on said roadway insequence with blinking of said turn signal.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4wherein said actuator is actuated by turning on said vehicle's lights,whereby a continuous guideline is painted on said roadway until saidvehicle lights are turned off.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein saidholder is supported by a post that is vertically positionable withrespect to said arm.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said holder ishorizontally positionable with respect to said vehicle.
 9. The apparatusof claim 1 wherein said holder is operably supported by a resilientmember at said second end of said arm.
 10. A vehicle-mountable guidelinepainting apparatus, comprising: an arm having a first end adapted to bereceived within a trailer hitch receiver of a vehicle; a holder operablysupported at a second end of said arm at a desired elevation above aroadway, said holder configured to receive an aerosol paint canister andto support said canister in a position with its nozzle oriented in adirection to spray paint onto said roadway; a wiring harness having aconnector at one end adapted to be received by a trailer light plug onsaid vehicle; an actuator electrically connected at another end to saidwiring harness, said actuator disposed to actuate said nozzle uponreceiving an electrical signal from said vehicle through said wiringharness causing paint to be sprayed onto said roadway.
 11. The apparatusof claim 10 wherein said actuator is actuated by turning on one of saidvehicle's turn signals, whereby intermittent guidelines are painted onsaid roadway in sequence with blinking of said turn signal.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 10 wherein said actuator is actuated by turning onsaid vehicle's lights, whereby a continuous guideline is painted on saidroadway until said vehicle lights are turned off.
 13. The apparatus ofclaim 10 wherein said holder is supported by a post that is verticallypositionable with respect to said arm.
 14. The apparatus of claim 10wherein said holder is horizontally positionable with respect to saidvehicle.
 15. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said holder is operablysupported by a resilient member at said second end of said arm.
 16. Amethod of painting guidelines on a roadway, comprising: securing a firstend of an arm to a vehicle; operably supporting a holder at a second endof said arm at a desired elevation above a roadway; placing an aerosolpaint canister into said holder with its nozzle oriented in a directionto spray paint onto said roadway; operably coupling an actuator toactuate said nozzle; electrically coupling said actuator to saidvehicle's electrical system; electrically actuating said actuator toactuate said nozzle causing paint to be sprayed onto said roadway. 17.The method of claim 16 wherein said first end of said arm is receivedwithin a trailer hitch receiver of said vehicle.
 18. The method of claim16 wherein said actuator is electrically coupled to said vehicle'selectrical system through said vehicle's trailer light plug.
 19. Themethod of claim 16 wherein electrically actuating said actuator includesturning on one of said vehicle's turn signals, whereby intermittentguidelines are painted on said roadway in sequence with blinking of saidturn signal.
 20. The method of claim 16 wherein electrically actuatingsaid actuator includes turning on said vehicle's lights, whereby acontinuous guideline is painted on said roadway until said vehiclelights are turned off.